Cor Quod Absconderit
by opalheart12
Summary: Bri Krane has been on the run from the Ministry for 15 years. The problem is that she can't remember why or what happened. She is living a normal Muggle life until one day her professor tries to kill her and she is saved by one Teddy Lupin. Can he help her remember why the Ministry is after her and help her remember her past?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I own nothing. Onward.**_

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"Where could she be? How could she just vanish?"

"I don't know, sir. We scoured the entire area for her. She's gone. No magical signature left behind either. I have alerted the other major countries, but without much to go on, finding her could be next to impossible."

The man took in the wreckage of what used to be the Ministry of Magic. Bodies lay scattered and the area resembled a bomb site.

"She's 5 years old! She can't have gotten far. I still don't know that I believe she did all this damage on her own."

"Sir, she is very powerful. I would not underestimate her."

The man appeared to be thinking the words over. "You're right. She must be dealt with. She may be a child, but we must not make the mistake of believing she is no threat. She is dangerous, and she must be destroyed."

* * *

 _ **15 Years Later…**_

She was dead. She was so fucking dead, it wasn't even funny. How could she be an hour and a half late to her final? She'd stayed up all night studying. She swore she'd only close her eyes for a few minutes.

"Fuck!" She shouted as she tugged on what she hadn't noticed were yesterday's clothes: a dark tank top and a gray hoodie, black yoga pants, and red flats. Her hair remained in the haphazard ponytail it had been in for the last three days. Her eyes were puffy and tired. She looked like hell.

Twenty minutes later, she was outside Dr. Whittaker's office waiting for him to return from the class she was _supposed_ to be in. Tears stung at her eyes and she felt a huge weight settling on her chest.

She was so screwed. Without that final, she would fail the class. Her GPA would plummet. She would lose her scholarship. She would have no choice but to leave Rasley College and it was only her sophomore year. She'd worked so damn hard and it was all about to be for nothing.

Bri tried to steady her breathing to keep herself from having a panic attack but it wasn't working. She stood from the bench outside the office and felt her head spin. Her chest ached and trying to concentrate felt difficult.

Suddenly, the world was upside down and black spots were nibbling at the edges of her vision. She chased them and was lead into nothingness.

* * *

When she woke up, Dr. Whittaker was standing over her with a very curious look in his eyes. She sat up slowly, noticing then that she was on the sofa in his office. He backed up a bit and looked at her closely. "You were absent today, Ms. Krane. You missed your final exam."

Bri's mind raced a mile a minute and she schooled her features to stay as calm as possible. "There was something I needed to ask you, sir, before the test. I think I had a panic attack while I was waiting for you."

"Indeed." He replied quietly as he walked to his desk. He opened the drawer and pulled out what appeared to be a long, skinny thick. The wood was a dark color, cherry wood possibly, and very shiny. The handle was thicker and made of a slightly darker wood.

Bri eyed the item curiously.

Something about it made her uncomfortable. She felt something tugging on the edges of her mind and felt pain race through trough the center of her head. She let out a hoarse scream and her head shot back against the sofa. "What the hell is that?" She asked, gasping when the pain momentarily subsided.

Whittaker's eyes appeared cold as he walked closer to her. "You felt it, didn't you? I had not accounted for that, but I suppose I should not be surprised, given who you are. You felt me trying to enter your mind and you fought me off. Oh, well done, Ms. Krane. Well done, indeed."

Bri felt the distinct urge that she should get far away from Dr. Whittaker. "What are you talking about? What did you just do?"

He let out a hollow laugh and tapped the stick in his hand against his temple. "I must admit I find myself quite impressed with you, Ms. Krane. You have eluded them for years. I thought it was quite foolish of them to ask me to hunt you. I admit I never thought I would find the ever elusive Quinn McHaley. But here you are. I shall be the richest man in all of wizarding Europe when I hand you over."

His voice sent chills down her spine and her blood ran cold. At best, he would hurt her. At worst…she was fucking dead.

He lifted the stick and pointed it at her. "I apologize, Ms. Krane. You are quite an exceptional student, but this is business. _Incarcerus._ " Vines shot from the stick and wrapped themselves around Bri's body. Fear seized her heart and she began to scream. She felt herself being lifted into the air and struggled in vain to get free.

Suddenly, the door to Whittaker's office flew open and in came a man who did not look much older than Bri. He had bright teal hair and light brown eyes. He was tall and somewhat lithe, though she could see he was muscular. Like Whittaker, he had a stick in his hand.

"Leave her alone." His voice was calm. He did not look particularly angry or bothered, and that was downright terrifying.

Whittaker turned to the stranger and pointed his stick at him, the beginnings of a spell on his lips, but the stranger beat him to it. " _Stupefy maxima_." Whittaker sunk to the floor, unconscious, as if his knees had been knocked from beneath him. The man levitated him to the ceiling before dropping him to the floor forcefully and turning away from him as a sickening crunch was heard in the room.

Bri regarded the new man fearfully as she struggled still to get free. He gave her a small smile before muttering, " _Finite_." The vines disappeared from Bri's body and she let out a deep breath as tears sprung to her eyes. The man helped her stand. "How do you feel?"

"What happened? Why did he try to—"

"Kill you? I'll explain, but we need to get out of here. Tell me your address."

She didn't know if she could trust the man before her, but he saved her from whatever Whittaker intended to do to her and that was more than enough.

"428 Downing Hall Road. Where are you taking me? Who are you?"

"My name is Teddy Lupin and I'm taking you home."

"But he said people were after me. Doesn't that mean we can't stay there? Where can we go?" Bri could feel her heart racing and her breath picking up. She eyed the possibly dead Dr. Whittaker and felt her skin refuse to stop crawling.

"Some place safe, Bri. I'm taking you some place safe."

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 _ **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this. Let me know what you think.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hope you all enjoy this chapter. As usual, I own nothing but my OCs. Onward...**_

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"You were sent to find me, weren't you?" Bri asked quietly as she sat on the edge of her bed, a duffle bag next to her. Teddy put an extension and lightening charm on it before telling her to feel free to pack whatever she wished. As she looked around her sparse, dark apartment she was thankful. She hadn't had much to begin with.

"Yes." He answered simply from the armchair across the room. He stared at her intently. Despite the darkness, Bri could still make out more specific features. He had dark olive skin and his hair was no longer teal, but a faded brown color. His light hazel eyes didn't seem quite so terrifying anymore.

"You work for them, the people Whittaker worked for. You just…got to me first so you could turn me over to them and…he mentioned money…you wanted the reward." As she said it, her gut told her she was so very far from the truth. If he was going to turn her over, he'd have done it by now.

"If I was working for them, I wouldn't have freed you from those binds, would I?" He was joking, but Bri swore she caught something in his voice that told her he was offended.

She let silence stretch between them to cover up the ridiculous blunder she'd just made. Finally, an ominous roll of thunder distracted her and she looked again at Teddy. "What now?"

Teddy rose from the chair and straightened his shirt before dusting off his pants. "We need to go. I'll explain everything when we're somewhere safe, I promise. Now, take my hand."

Bri did as Teddy instructed and not two seconds later, they vanished.

When Bri no longer felt like she was being crushed and thrown around, she opened her eyes and saw that they were in a cottage that sat near the top of a valley, if the view outside could be trusted. It was cloudy outside though the sun still managed to peak through, causing light to flicker through the room they were in. She looked around in wonder, marveling over the sensation.

"Apparation isn't my favorite mode of travel, but it gets the job done, I think." Teddy said with a smile.

"What are you?" Bri asked, tearing her gaze from the window to look at him. "Where did you come from?"

Teddy gestured for her to sit as he pulled most of the curtains back to let in more light before finally joining her. "I am quite a few things but first I am a wizard, as was Whittaker and as are you. But you would be considered a witch."

Bri felt her stomach clench. For a reason she felt like she couldn't remember, the word _witch_ gave her an extreme sense of foreboding. The fact that her first instinct was not to deny what Teddy was saying told her all she needed to do.

"We have magic, you and me?"

"Yes. We are not the only ones. A good bit of the human population are wizards and witches, though some don't always know it."

"What makes me so different? What is the Ministry and why are they after me?" She felt as if question after question was racing around in her mind and she turned to look out the window once more, hoping to calm herself.

Teddy sighed and leaned back a bit. "The Ministry of Magic is a bureaucratic nightmare. Still, they are the governing body for all witches and wizards in the United Kingdom. They like to think they can control anything and everything, but that isn't always true, especially as it relates to you."

"What makes me so different?" she repeated.

"15 years ago, the Edinburgh division of the Ministry experienced a terrorist attack. That's what they called it, at least. 9 people were killed and 85 were injured. The source was a 5 year old little girl by the name of Quinn McHaley. She was being kept in the lower levels of the division center for as long as she'd been alive. And she got free."

The sun dipped behind the clouds once more as Bri felt her mouth go dry. She felt her eyes widen and saw the look of sadness Teddy gave her. "It was me?" she asked as she felt tears spring to her eyes.

Teddy nodded solemnly in response. "Yes."

"But my name is Bri Krane! Ms. Hatchett named me that when she found me in that dumpster. She said it was what her niece would be named if she hadn't died as a baby."

Teddy nodded as if in understanding. "The child vanished upon escaping the center and could not be found. The Ministry saw her as a threat, but we did not. We knew we would have to find you first before they got to you."

"What?" She could not recall the last time she ever felt so confused.

"The Protectores de Lumine. It is an organization that has been around for over a millennia. Our mission is to protect the wizarding world from corruption and despair. After the war with Voldemort began the first time around, we knew our services would be needed, though not at that time. So we hid until it was safe again. We exist within the Ministry and other organizations." Teddy recited to Bri. Still, she was confused.

"You can't be that much older than I am."

"I'm not much older than you. I'm 24. I was recruited to the PDL when I was entering my 6th year at Hogwarts, which is one of many schools for wizards and witches in Europe. The Minister of Magic at that time, Kingsley Shacklebolt, wanted me to join. He thought it was something my parents would have approved of if they were still alive. I have been an agent ever since." Teddy replied.

Bri looked around the room as she tried to absorb what Teddy was saying. She was a witch. Bri Krane was not even her real name. She was considered a terrorist for reasons she couldn't even remember or know. She was a _killer_. The thought made her stomach drop and tears slide down her face. She didn't even deserve Teddy saving her.

"Why were they keeping me there?" she asked quietly, her voice cracking.

"I cannot be the one to tell you that. Only the Praefectus can. She is the overseer for this organization. We will stay here for a few days and I will take you to her when she sends word that it is safe to do so. She works at a magical university in northern England and she believes it might be quite advantageous of you to attend."

"But I don't remember anything about magic." Bri responded as she turned to look out the window again.

"Precisely. Your magic has been suppressed for 15 years. I suspect that the accidental magic you used to cause the explosion and escape caused your core to close itself to protect you from being found. Bri, you have the potential to be quite a powerful witch. _That_ is why the Ministry wants you so badly. You are considered a threat to them."

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 _ **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed. There was a lot of information in this chapter so I just decided to end it here and the next chapter will get the ball rolling. Reviews are everything! Until next time!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. As usual, I own nothing but the characters I created. Onward._**

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Three days went by. Bri's routine was much the same as it had been before the mess with Whittaker. She woke before the sun rose, showered, and made breakfast. Teddy was quite different.

He slept throughout the day and only emerged from his room twice every night and always for water and a sandwich. He didn't talk much to Bri, figuring she would need some time to absorb all that he told her.

As it happened, Bri grew less and less wary of Teddy. She appreciated that he left her well enough alone. She only wished that there were books in the cottage about wizards and magic so she could know more about the predicament she was in.

She filled her time with taking walks through the valley during the day. It was a completely deserted area. There was no one else for a couple hundred miles and the cottage was more or less secluded by a large hill on one side and thick woods. Where most would have felt paranoid and scared of being closed in, Bri appreciated it. She felt that she could finally breathe now.

"We'll leave for Westrun tomorrow morning." Teddy said quietly when he came into the kitchen for water as Bri was leaving.

She stopped, a plate in her hand, and turned to face him. "What is Westrun?"

"The wizarding university I told you about. The Praefectus is a professor there. She is quite eager for you to begin your magical education. You have a lot to catch up on. More will be explained you tomorrow." His voice seemed strained, tired even, and his tone indicated this was all he felt like saying on the matter.

Bri wanted to ask him if he was alright, but they barely knew each other. Besides, clearly Teddy had his mind some place else. If Bri had not known better, she might have thought he was avoiding her.

"I will be ready early." She replied before leaving him in the kitchen and heading upstairs.

Things were fine when she didn't know when they might leave the cottage. She was fine when she thought she might have had more time to come to terms with the new world she'd been driven into. Now that she knew she would be leaving the cottage, Bri Krane could feel her anxiety rising and tried to steady her breathing.

Magic was beautiful and terrifying and fascinatingly horrible. All these things were true. She could appreciate it, certainly, but in truth, magic terrified her.

What place could she possibly have in a society where she was scared of the thing that made her who she was?

She tried not to dwell on these thoughts as she attempted to fall asleep but they persevered, and when Teddy knocked on her door the next morning, she'd gotten ready for the day without ever having slept at all.

* * *

Westrun University for Magical Education was located in Northern England near the border of Scotland. Around the university was a small village with shops, restaurants, and apartment buildings filled with people from all walks of the wizarding world.

Bri fought to take her eyes off it as she and Teddy began the long climb up the plateau. She nearly tripped and Teddy helped her as she tried to regain her balance.

"Did you come here for school?" Bri asked, hoping the conversation could keep her from tripping again.

"I went to Hogwarts first and then to Westrun immediately after. Most people from Hogwarts start work when they graduate. A surprising few pursue higher education." Teddy turned to her as he said this and she saw his expression had softened sometime between the previous night and then. His bright brown eyes seemed content and his hair had changed colors again to a dark brown with streaks of dark red. His dark olive skin seemed to glow the more the sun shone on it.

"What did you study?"

"I double majored in International Magical Relations and Magical Creatures. I thought it would help me once I joined the PDL."

"Has it?"

He smiled a bit before replying, "I have not been disappointed thus far."

They were silent for a few more moments before Bri spoke again. "Why Magical Creatures? That doesn't seem related to International Magical Relations."

They stopped and Teddy gestured for her to sit next to him on large, flat boulder to take rest for a bit.

She could see a slightly guarded look take over his face. "Both my parents were magical creatures. My father was a werewolf and my mother was a Metamorphmagus. The werewolf thing is self explanatory, but usually Metamorphmagi can change any feature on their body to something else, human and animal alike. Some of the more advanced can shapeshift completely into another person or, even rarer, an animal."

Bri was having a surprisingly easy time understanding what Teddy was telling her. Some part of her felt quite comfortable learning about magical creatures. "Yeah? What level are you?"

Teddy sighed and ran a finger through his hair, a now shy look in his eyes. "I…well…I'm working on the whole shapeshifting bit. Turns out its somewhat easier when your father was a werewolf. Comes in handy on PDL assignments."

Bri wasn't surprised. Teddy did not strike her as the type to brag or boast. She looked down at her hands, her fascination with the wizarding world now turning to fear. "You've grown up knowing what your parents were, knowing who your parents were. I don't know a thing about where I came from other than the fact that I am a killer-"

"No, you aren't, Bri."

"You said people died in that explosion. People died because of me, because of my magic. How can I possibly fit in this world where…where the very thing that makes me who I am is this horrible entity that kills people?" She hadn't noticed that her eyes were tearing up until she felt the wind blow strong against her face and felt wetness on her cheek.

Teddy watched her silently cry, feeling utterly uncomfortable with the sight. Emotions were not his strong point. So, for five minutes, he let her cry in silence until she was able to speak again.

"Does it have to be today? Do we have to meet her today?" She felt like her world was spinning again and she was powerless to stop it. It was hard enough just dealing with the fact that she was a witch. But now with meeting the Praefectus and possibly attending Westrun, magic would become cemented in her every day life. Bri didn't feel all that capable of handling it.

"The Praefectus is a busy woman." Teddy replied simply.

With a sigh, Bri wiped her eyes and began walking up the plateau ahead of Teddy. Figuring she might need the time to herself, he didn't rush to join her.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, they reached the entrance of Westrun. Just as Bri suspected, it was a large castle. The bricks were a weathered tan, and the castle itself contained many windows. It wasn't a particularly tall castle, though it fascinated Bri nonetheless.

Teddy led her through the large entrance hall and up a few staircases before they stopped at a door on a secluded landing. He knocked three times and waited before the door opened and he entered with Bri behind him.

"I was beginning to think I might not see you today, Teddy." The voice was deep and rich and sounded the way Bri imagined hugs felt like. Her eyes were drawn to the person it came from

She was tall and statuesque, with thick, curly hair, eyes so brown they were nearly black, and skin the color of creamed coffee. Her teeth were blindingly straight and white and Bri found herself running her tongue over her own teeth.

The woman wore what might possibly have been the most well designed pantsuit Bri had ever laid eyes on. It was dark blue, bringing out her eyes and skin, and golden pearl jewelery hung from the woman.

"We have a bit of a delay, if that's alright with you, Madame Praefectus." Teddy answered with a short bow.

The woman rolled her eyes and huffed before hugging Teddy tightly. "You silly boy. I've told you for years now you don't have to call me that."

"And I have told you for years that I don't care?" he replied, laughing.

The woman turned to Bri and gave her a warm smile before extending a hand toward her to shake. "I'm quite happy to finally meet you, Ms. Krane. I'm Samara Thompson. I'm sure Teddy has already told you I'm the Praefectus of the PDL."

Bri nodded quietly, not sure what to say. Teddy gave her meaningful look, raising his eyebrow and turning it yellow at the same time. It made her laugh and she didn't feel so wound up. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Thompson."

They made small talk as Samara prepared tea for them and arranged for sandwiches to be brought up to them. As Samara and Teddy caught up, Bri looked around Samara's office.

It was huge and open. Despite the fact that nearly every square inch of wall was covered in books, it didn't feel cluttered. Behind Samara's desk was the only window in the whole room: a huge floor-to-ceiling window that Bri might have expected to see in a church. Directly ahead of the desk was a small sitting area complete with two sofas, an armchair, and a coffee table. This was where they were when Samara finally redirected her attention to Bri.

"I know you must have a lot of questions." She said expectantly.

Bri gave an uneasy look toward Teddy who nodded at her to continue. "I…well, I think I would like to know why the Ministry wants me dead."

She'd meant it as a joke, though only Teddy smiled slightly. Samara made herself comfortable on the couch in front of them.

"I'm sure Teddy told you why. But what is important is knowing why you were ever there in the first place. You were there because you had the potential to be quite a powerful witch and your parents knew it."

Bri frowned slightly at this. "So, you knew them? You knew my parents?"

"Yes," Samara replied simply. "They were agents of the PDL working in the Department of Mysteries. No one knows what goes on there anyway, so it was the perfect place to hide you, to study you." She sounded slightly bitter.

Bri felt her stomach drop and her eyes automatically found a spot on the wall they liked. Her parents had treated her like some sort of lab rat for the first five years of her life. Had they even cared about her?

"Why?" she choked out, her voice slightly hoarse. "What was wrong with me?"

Teddy stood and walked to the window that overlooked the rest of the school. He didn't particularly wish to see Bri's face when Samara told her the rest of the story.

"Nothing. There was nothing wrong with you. It had to do with your magic. Before you were even born it was quite strong. You were producing bits of accidental magic before your mother even gave birth to you. Your parents knew how dangerous it might be to have another powerful witch in the world. Everyone was just getting over the defeat of Voldemort. They were all quite paranoid. Your parents were trying to protect you." Samara sat down next to Bri and held her hand as she said this.

Her eyes travelled back to Samara and the sincerity she saw practically broke her heart. She would never agree with what her parents had done and she knew Samara didn't either. But the fact was that she was still alive.

"How did they die?"

Teddy glanced back and saw that Bri had taken a deep breath and was trying to school her features to remain neutral. He recalled doing the same when he'd learned the truth of his parents' death.

"The Ministry executed them for treason and conspiracy for terrorism. They thought your parents were trying to use you as a weapon. They tried to capture you for themselves and you escaped. The general public doesn't even know you exist. As far as they know, Vivian and Joel McHaley were the orchestrators of the Edinburgh attacks. The Ministry fears your existence because you could be used against them. For all they know, you could be the next Voldemort."

"But I'm not evil! I don't even know how to use magic!" Bri felt that same feeling she'd felt in Whittaker's office surfacing again.

"They don't know that. That's why they sent Whittaker to try to kill you. The slimy git was a bounty hunter. He'd been on to you for months. If I hadn't come when I did, you would be dead or in Ministry captivity." Teddy countered firmly.

Bri felt quite a few different emotions then. She felt confusion, sadness, anger. But more than anything, she felt terrified.

"Now what? They aren't stupid, the Ministry. They'll know I'm here and they'll come after me anyway, right?" Bri asked, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"No. Westrun is one of the most protected wizarding schools in the world. You're safer here than even Hogwarts. They won't know you're here until you want them to." Teddy answered.

Bri nodded and the office was silent for a while. Finally, she took a deep breath before saying, "Then, I want to learn more about magic."

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 _ **A/N: What did you guys think? Please leave reviews! Until next time...**_


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